The development of the core facilities has been a learning experience for the PI of the NO INBRE. The major lesson learned since initial funding of the NO INBRE is that in a low population, large land mass state with a limited investigator base, one must develop core facilities that provide services that cannot be purchased through commercial entities. This certainly applies to flow and cell sorting since there is no other facility capable of sorting cells in the entire state of North Dakota. Likewise, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to perform flow through commercial entities or at academic centers distant from one's home laboratory. This is especially true for the sorting of cells, where in most instances immediate processing and/or culture of the product is necessary. A prime example of this situation is in the cutting-edge technology of stem cells, where research in this area is difficult, if not impossible, without the ability to sort and capture the resulting cells for culture and/or analysis. The NO INBRE has identified this core as essential for the further development of research, teaching and service in NO. Simply stated, at some juncture in their undergraduate career, every undergraduate student destined to enter the graduate student or health professional pipeline should have been exposed to flow and cell sorting. The same is true for graduate students destined for postdoctoral fellowships and medical students progressing to residencies.